Upper Respiratory System Flashcards
What is the function of the respiratory system?
Air distributer and gas exchanger, supplying oxygen and removing carbon dioxide.
Also warms, filters, and humidifies air
What is olfaction?
Smell
Everything in the respiratory system, except for Alveoli
Air distributors
Sacs that serve as gas exchangers
Alveoli
What are the parts of the upper respiratory tract?
Nose, nasopharynx, oropharynx, laryngopharynx and larynx
What are the parts of the lower respiratory tract?
Trachea, bronchial tree, lungs
What are the accessory structures of the respiratory system?
Oral cavity, ribcage, diaphragm
External portion consists of a bony and cartilaginous frame covered by skin containing sebaceous glands
Structure of the NOSE
What are the two nasal bones surrounded by superiorly?
Frontal bone
What are the two nasal bone surrounded by laterally?
The maxilla
Where does the nasal bone meet the frontal bone?
Nasion
Where is the nasal cavity located?
Over the roof of the mouth, seperated by palatine and maxillary bones
What seperated the roof of the nose from the cranial cavity?
Cribriform plate (of Ethmoid bone)
Separates the nasal cavity into right and left cavities
Septum
What 4 structures create the septum?
-perpendicular plate of the ethmoid bone
-vomer bone
-vomeronasal cartilages
-septal nasal cartilage
Why is the nasal cavity divided into two?
To increase surface area to filter, warm, humidify
How many passageways are each nasal cavity divided in to?
3
What are the 3 passageways of the nasal cavity called?
Superior, middle and inferior meatuses
What are the meatuses created by?
Concha
(Small shell like bone structure)
External openings to nasal cavities; open into vestibule
Anterior nares ( nostrils )
Where is vestibule located?
Lies just inside the nasal cavity
Coarse hairs in the vestibule to stop particulates from entering system
Vibriasse
What is the sequence of air flow through the nose into the pharynx?
Anterior nares -> vestibule -> 3 meatuses simultaneously-> posterior nares -> nasopharynx
A mucous membrane that has a pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium with numerous goblet cells that produce and release mucous; it contains a rich blood supply
(Referred to as olfactory epithelium)
Respiratory mucosa
Special sensory membrane containing many olfactory nerve cells and a rich lymphatic plexus
Olfactory epithelium
A tubelike structure 12.5 cm extending from the base of the skull to the esophagus; anterior to the cervical spine and made of muscle. Is divided into 3 parts
Pharynx
Located behind the nose from the posterior nares to the level of the soft palate
Nasopharynx
Located behind the mouth from the soft palate to the level of the hyoid bone ( hyoid bone at level of C-3)
Oropharynx
Extends from hyoid bone to esophagus
Laryngopharynx
Where are pharyngeal tonsils located?
In the nasopharynx
(Most superior)
Where are the palatine tonsils and the lingual tonsils located?
Oropharynx
Palatine ( most commonly removed)
Lingual (below tongue)
How many openings are there to the pharynx?
7
The pharynx affects speech production
True
Both air and food pass through the pharynx
True
Positioned between the root of the tongue and the upper end of the trachea
(C3-C6)
Larynx
What are the 3 laryngeal cartilages?
Thyroid cartilage (Adam’s apple), epiglottis, cricoid cartilages
Has a free superior border that moves up and down during swallowing to prevent food or liquid from entering the trachea
Epiglottis
Three pairs of smaller cartilages
Paired laryngeal cartilages
What are the three paired laryngeal cartilages?
Arytenoid, corniculate, cuneiform
What is the largest cartilage in the larynx?
Thyroid cartilage
